Losing your heart on the high street

Feb 11 2008 By Catherine Hendrick

WANT to discover whether a potential date is impatient or fussy?

If one thing is guaranteed to bring out your partner's worst traits, it's a joint shopping trip. Just ask thousands of couples who've had rows across the clothes rails. So what better way to road test a potential beau than to see if they can survive an hour trawling around your favourite shops?

In the run up to Valentine's Day, we took two singles and set them up on a blind date with a difference. Instead of a romantic dinner for two at a posh restaurant, we sent them shopping together at Birmingham's Martineau Place.

They had just one hour to search for the perfect Valentine's gift for each other and grab a bite to lunch.

With a name like Valentine 33-year-old businessman Cayven ought to be the perfect date. But did he and 25-year-old Gemma Watts find love among the labels or did Cupid leave his arrow firmly at the check out?

Name: Cayven Valentine.

Age: 33.

From: Moseley.

Job: Owns his own IT leasing company Hardsoft Computers.

Ideal Woman: "Someone pretty and petite who's funny and intelligent. I go to the gym quite a lot so I'd like to meet someone active."

Dislikes: Impatience.

Name: Gemma Watts

Age: 25

From: Worcester.

Job: Account manager in Birmingham.

Ideal man: "Someone who makes me laugh more than anything else and someone I can have a conversation with. Looks-wise I normally go for men who are dark and olive skinned. I go to the gym quite a lot and am about to start rock climbing so someone who is into fitness would be good too."

Dislikes: Indecisiveness and impatience.

So did they find each other the perfect Valentine's Gift?

He bought her: Coco Mademoiselle perfume by Chanel (50ml) from Boots. £50.

Cayven says: "I asked her a few questions about the things she likes and discovered she's keen on this perfume. I think she's stylish and has taste and cares about her appearance. I think it suits her."

Gemma says: "He took time to find out what I liked and this is perfect!"

She bought him: A jumper from Gap. £25.

Gemma says: "He was quite difficult to buy for but I think men usually are when it comes to Valentine's Day. There aren't as many options as there are for women. But I could tell Cayven liked clothes as soon as I met him."

Cayven says: "I normally tell people not to buy clothes for me because I'm quite fussy and difficult to choose for. But this is something I would pick for myself."

So what did they think of their shopping date?

Gemma says: "I think it's a good idea. There's less pressure. You don't have to get dressed up for a meal and sit there all night trying to make conversation. You have stuff to talk about instantly and I think you can be yourself a bit more especially as we were only together during our lunch break rather than spending a whole evening together. Although it's not as dark as when you meet someone in a bar!"

Cayven says: "It's a different way to go on a date. You have to interact quite quickly and I think it's a good way to get an idea of people's tastes and traits. I think we found out quite a lot about each other. I discovered that she likes perfume anyway!"

So what did they really think of each other?

Gemma says: "I was nervous. I've never been on a blind date before and I was worried I might look like a complete idiot. I didn't know anything about Cayven before we met. When I saw him, I thought he looked very stylish. I probably didn't think he'd be as much fun as he was. He's really lively and chatty though and made me feel relaxed about the whole situation. He's very gentlemanly too - he held doors open for me which I liked. He focused on me quite a bit and made sure we had time to shop for what I wanted which was nice. I've discovered he's quite fussy about what he buys though!"

Cayven says: "When I first saw Gemma I thought she was very attractive. She's got a nice smile and a bubbly personality and we had a good time. I think we've also got similar tastes. The jumper she bought for me was just my style."

So will they do it again?"

Gemma says: "Definitely. It was a very enjoyable way to spend a lunch break!"

Cayven says: "Absolutely. I'd recommend it to my friends. It's a different way of meeting people."

We'll keep you posted....